Pasta Salsiccia
e Cipolla
Sausage and onion pasta
The simplest of the sausage pastas — crumbled sausage browned with a properly softened onion, finished with a generous amount of Parmigiano. No mushrooms, no artichokes, nothing else competing for attention. Just the sausage and the onion, given time to do their work.
Of all the sausage pastas in this family — with mushrooms, with artichokes, with friarielli — this is the plainest, and in some ways the most honest one. It has exactly two things going on: a properly slow-cooked onion, sweet and soft rather than sharp, and crumbled sausage, browned and rendered. Together, with nothing else added, they make a sauce richer than the short ingredient list suggests, and a generous amount of Parmigiano at the end pulls it into something that coats the pasta properly.
The recipe
For four to six. Rigatoni, penne, or orecchiette all work.
Pasta Salsiccia e Cipolla — sausage and slowly softened onion, finished with Parmigiano. Click to enlarge.
400 gNeapolitan sausage, crumbled
1 large, thinly slicedOnion
To tasteExtra virgin olive oil
OptionalA splash of white wine
Grated, generouslyParmigiano Reggiano
To tasteSalt and black pepper
400 gRigatoni, penne, or orecchiette
1
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a wide pan over low heat. Add the sliced onion with a pinch of salt and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until soft, translucent, and sweet — 12–15 minutes. Do not let it brown.
2
Remove the sausage from its casing and crumble it into the pan with the onion. Raise the heat slightly and brown it, breaking it up as it cooks. If using, deglaze with a splash of white wine and let it evaporate.
3
Season with salt and pepper and keep warm over low heat while the pasta cooks.
4
Cook the pasta, drain reserving a little water, and toss with the sauce, loosening with pasta water if needed. Finish with a generous amount of Parmigiano and serve immediately.
Related sausage pastas
Pasta salsiccia, cipolla e carciofi
The same onion-and-sausage base, with artichokes added. See
the full recipe.
Pasta salsiccia e funghi (o melanzane)
The autumn version, with mushrooms or eggplant instead of onion as the second element. See
the full recipe.
Buon appetito.
